Perry slams feds on EPA action; White slams Perry

Here’s another diference between GOP Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White — their view on the reason for the EPA moving in on the air pollution permitting process.

Perry is slamming the feds. Here’s his statement:

“Statewide ozone levels have dropped by 22% since 2000, Houston has achieved federal ozone standards for the first time, and the DFW area is very close to achieving those standards. These environmental and air quality achievements are the result of the joint efforts of local governments, the Legislature, TCEQ and private industry, and have occurred during a time when Texas has had economic growth that is the envy of other states.

“The Clean Air Act authorizes the delegation of permitting authority to the states. Texas has had our flexible permitting program in place since for nearly two decades. However, under the Obama Administration there has been a concerted effort to transfer power away from the states to the federal government.

“It is deeply troubling that unelected federal bureaucrats are willing to kill Texas jobs and derail one of the strongest economies in the country because they are more focused on process than achieving clean air. (As you may know, the flexible permit system, in particular, has resulted in the reduction of pollution from facilities that aren’t even required to do so under federal law). The desire of EPA to terminate this successful clean air program is baffling, especially since the EPA has known about this program since the 1990s, and it has been an effective tool to help Texas achieve better environmental quality.”

White lays the blame squarely at Perry’s feet with this statement:

“Because of Rick Perry’s mismanagement of the state’s environmental agency, our state is now losing our ability to make our own decisions about air quality and the economy.

“While Perry will likely try to make this into a partisan issue, the truth is that the state was repeatedly warned, beginning in 2007 under President Bush, that its permitting program violated the law that granted Texas the authority to issue air pollution permits.

“Historically, under federal and gubernatorial administrations with leaders in both parties, Texas had earned the ability to administer the Clean Air Act. This delegation of authority has been important to Texas, letting our state implement the Clean Air Act in a way designed to fit our own air quality and economic needs.

“Over the course of two federal administrations, Perry’s agency lost the confidence of regulatory authorities to the detriment of all Texans.”